Great, great, great grandma to celebrate Mothers' Day in family with SIX generations of daughters

Mollie Wood has celebrated scores of Mothers' Days but this Sunday marks her first great, great, great grandmothers' day.

The 111-year-old matriarch's Virginia family now has an astounding six generations of daughters still living, since the birth of little Braylin just seven weeks ago.

'Mumma took care of herself,' Ms Wood's 88-year-old daughter Louise Minter said, revealing the secret to her long life.

Strong: The six generations of daughters, pictured, are very close

'She never smoked, never drank and she ate right. She cut back to 135 pounds, but I just keep going up and up,' she joked.

Ms Wood was born in Charlottesville in 1901, the year the first automobile was spotted in the town. The super centenarian has more than doubled her life expectancy, which was 54 for women at the turn of the 20th century, and just 50 for men.

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Braylin Marie Higgins, whose mother, Savannah Shifflett, is just 16, has a life expectancy of 78.5 years. But, with her genes, she is likely to live a lot longer than that.

Life: Mollie Wood, 111, bonded with great, great, great granddaughter Braylin at her birthday party in April

Aside from longevity, Ms Wood has also passed on a strong work ethic to her brood.

'She
was such a hard worker,' said Ms Minter, who continues to clean houses
despite nearing 90 herself. 'We never had much money but always had
plenty to eat because she would work the garden. We had peaches and
apples. Everything she cooked was delicious.'

She would also wash the family's clothes by hand.

But life got tougher for Ms Wood when, with two toddlers and a baby on the way, her husband was struck down with polio and couldn't work for three years.

Contrast: Ms Wood's hands were put to work, tending the garden, washing clothes and cooking for her family

'There is a photo of her hand and the baby's hand together and
I look at that and think of all the hard work she did for us,' Ms
Minter said.'She was a wonderful mother.'

But Ms Minter said her father was also 'remarkable', defying doctors who claimed he'd never walk again.

'The doctor told him 'you'll be a helpless cripple for the rest of your life',' she said.

Healthy: Ms Wood took good care of herself, never drinking or smoking

'He got out of his wheelchair and started walking with a stick, and then he stopped using the stick. He went back to work for the railways and he was there for 44 years dragging his foot around.'

Ms Minter, who lives five minutes away from her mother in Charlottesville, gave birth to daughter Bette Woodson, 70, when she was just 18.

Ms Woodson's daughter, Marlo Shifflett, 39, told ABC News that the determination and fierce independence exhibited by her great grandparents has passed through the generations.

'My daughter has not asked for help,' she said of 16-year-old Savannah who, along with the family, was devastated when she learned of her pregnancy.

'And I thought, ‘Where does she get that from?’ and I realized we’re all that way.'

But the women said the baby, which Savannah describes as her 'world', has made them even closer.

Ms Wood is less alert these days but she certainly perked up when all six generations got together to celebrate her 111th birthday in April.

The precious get together was captured by Ms Minter's neighbour, Christain DeBaun, a photographer.

'They laid the baby next to her in the bed and she held her hands up and said 'I don't babysit babies anymore, I do what I want to do!'' Ms Minter said, laughing.

'We've had some good laughs since mumma's got old.'

But the sparky 88-year-old would prefer she didn't live as long as her mom.

'No, I really don't want to, but neither
did she. Her life is no pleasure to her, it really isn't. She has good
days but 90 per cent of the time she doesn't know the world is going
around.'

Most of the family no longer lives in Charlottesville but the women talk to each other on the phone regularly and meet up when they can.

On Sunday, Ms Minter will visit her mother at the home she's been in for 11 years. And there's no telling how many more Mothers' Days, Ms Wood, officially one of America's oldest mom's, will live to see.